Berlin

A 'country' village - where you'd least expect it

It's a tiny German village, complete with a farmyard, neo-gothic church and even its own working windmill. But in fact, it's located in Berlin itself - and more extraordinary still, happens to be surrounded by 20-storey tower blocks.

In the 1970s, building work began in the once-rural district of Marzahn-Hellersdorf, eventually converting the entire area into one of Berlin's largest GDR-era housing quarters.

Yet the historic settlement of Alt-Marzahn was left intact, a miniscule island in a sea of high-rise.

There's no denying the slightly surreal appearance of a busy motorway just beyond the windmill, or the concrete towers looming at either end of the cobbled main street and quaint village green.

But that, perhaps, is also part of Alt-Marzahn's appeal - because even in a city where curious sights abound, a hidden village surrounded by skyscrapers just has to be one of the most unexpected of them all.

See also:
Just an illusion - a neoclassic quarter among Marzahn's tower blocks
The historic villas of Lichterfelde West
Neukölln's secret village

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